Friday, 25 May, 2012

Denial of science, science of denial Tobacco and cancer. CFCs and ozone. Vaccines and autism. And evolution through natural selection, acid rain and global warming. Why do the facts get lost in a cacophony of argument, falsehood and outright denial? A conference looks at why the media get taken for a ride, and how they can improve.
Thursday, May 3rd, 2012

Patent wars!

As high-tech giants buy patents and launch lawsuits. How does the patent system work? Why does it fail? What does it mean to be “new, non-obvious and useful”? What will be the impact of the new patent law — the biggest change in 60 years? Why should we care?

Thursday, April 19th, 2012

Bird migration: Key explanation skewered!

How do homing pigeons find their way on their amazing migrations? For a decade, scientists thought iron-bearing nerve cells in the beak can detect Earth’s magnetic field. But those iron granules are in immune cells. So how do the birds do it?

Thursday, April 12th, 2012

Shaking it up: Maverick scientist dies

Sometimes, scientists feel the need to leave the lab and warn the public about onrushing hazards. Rowland warned about ozone, but others are warning about warming. Does scientific culture encourage or hinder going public? Does the helpful response to ozone depletion suggest we’ll succeed in confronting global warming?

Thursday, March 22nd, 2012

First forest: New details emerge

Returning to the site of a classic “first forest” site, New York scientists have found extra complexity: three fossilized trees-like species aged almost 400 million years. One find, a vine-like monster, may be a direct descendant of all seed-bearing trees!

Thursday, March 1st, 2012

Calendars: A fix needed?

Leap day approaches. But could a smart calendar finally drive a stake through the heart of Feb. 29? Could a “permanent” calendar place Christmas and New Year’s Day on Sunday, and simplify life for people who make schedules? It’s possible — but only if the new calendar gains acceptance…

Thursday, February 16th, 2012

Bookin’ science: Best of the batch.

If (gasp!) the subject is too big for a Whyfile, hit the books. Here, we review four great science books, on evolution, environment, fighting nature, and discovering motherly love.

Tuesday, December 20th, 2011

The importance of being Einstein

Experiment finds Earth “dragging” spacetime, as Einstein predicted. Einstein knew his physics. Bending light, gravity lenses, shifting spacetime, spinning neutron stars: he called them all.

Thursday, May 19th, 2011

Peopling the Americas — New evidence

A report that people were in Texas 15,500 years ago settles a long dispute: The Americans who made Clovis-style spear-points were not the first Americans — despite heavy archeological skepticism. Pre-Clovis rules! But who were the pre-Clovis people, and why are scientists so dismissive of contrary evidence?

Thursday, April 7th, 2011

English is optional dep’t

Must scientific literature be so darn murky? Do we really need clinkers like “biomedicine” and “astrolicism”? What if they just wrote English for a change? Join us for an entertaining tour of the dark side of the scientific enterprise!

Monday, March 28th, 2011